Week 5 – The Renaissance
Week 5 – The Renaissance Text Document
Lesson:
Many people would argue that the Renaissance period is the most important time in the history of art. But the High Renaissance itself was only 25 years long (1495-1520). Six men: Leonardo, Bramante, Michelangelo, Raphael, Giorgione, and Titian were the main artists of this period, and when they died the Renaissance basically ended. Think about how long the Egyptian civilization lasted – 2,000 years! Even the Middle Ages lasted over 900 years. So it’s actually pretty amazing that the most important art ever created was done is such a tiny period of time.
All the other art periods we’ve talked about so far were labeled after the fact. If you remember, when architects were building Gothic Cathedrals, they didn’t call it “Gothic” – this name was given to the style later. But the artists of the Renaissance knew what they were doing, and they knew it while it was actually happening. They called it “The Renaissance” at that time. “Renaissance” is a word that means “Rebirth” and this period is known as the rebirth of the classical styles that we saw during the Greek and Roman times. The artists during this period were intentionally looking back over a thousand years for new inspiration and ideas.
Remember, the Middle Ages were a dark period of time when very little art (besides the Cathedrals) was happening. People were very focused on the Church and worshiping God. They were worried about dying from the plague. They were fighting the Crusade Wars in the East. When the High Renaissance began in 1495 there was a shift from a complete focus on the divine (or God) to a focus on human achievement in the areas of Math, Science, Art, and Philosophy. The Renaissance is really a combination of these classical intellectual ideas with the Medieval ideas of worshiping God. This is the beginning of the kind of world we live in today, where both intellectual and religious thoughts are considered important. The artists who studied and became experts in all these subjects were known as Renaissance Men.
We didn’t talk about painting during the Middle Ages, but here’s an example of what it looked like:
Madonna Enthroned. Giotto. 1310 AD. Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence
How does Mary look in this picture? What color is her skin? Is she happy?
What are the gold circles around everyone’s heads? Can you see through them?
What is in the background of the picture?
The figures in this painting are flat, there’s no background, Mary and Jesus are sitting in a Gothic style architectural structure, they even look a little sick! Why are they so grey?!?!
Now let’s jump ahead to the High Renaissance and look at a work of a similar topic by the most celebrated painter of the time, Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519).
The Virgin of the Rocks. Leonardo da Vinci. 1485 AD. Musée du Louvre, Paris
Let’s ask some of the same questions with this painting: How does Mary look in this picture? How do you think she feels? What’s in the background?
This masterpiece features some of the most important techniques of the High Renaissance. Mary is in the center of the picture, with her right hand around St. John leading him towards the baby Jesus. St. John is adoring Jesus with his hands in a prayer-like position. Jesus is blessing John with his right hand and the Angel in red next to Jesus is pointing towards John referencing his important roll in Jesus’ life. Mary’s left hand is hovering over Jesus’ head, serving as his halo. It’s all a big circle – every hand gesture has meaning!
Here, Leonardo also shows us the Renaissance technique of ‘Chiaroscuro’ – the use of light and dark to create 3-dimensional figures. No longer do we have the flat people from the Middle Ages. Now the people in the paintings seem more real, like they have 3-dimensional shapes. The parts of their body closest to us are bright and clear, the parts farther away are darker and fade into the background.
The background scene of The Virgin of the Rocks is a natural landscape, and not a structure or building. Notice the hazy or foggy quality of the scene behind them? This haze is called ‘Sfumato’ and it gives the painting a warmth and almost dreamlike quality.
Next lets look at the most famous painting by Leonardo:
Mona Lisa. Leonardo da Vinci. 1503-5 AD. Musée du Louvre, Paris
Notice the ‘Sfumato’ or hazy background. It does have a dreamlike quality, doesn’t it? See the ‘Chiaroscuro’ of her face – especially her left side? The parts that fade into the background are darker and her face isn’t outlined with a hard line. Here, we also have another very important technique of The Renaissance, ‘Linear Perspective’ or a central vanishing point in the background of the image. The elements of the scene behind the figure get smaller as the landscape gets farther away. This creates a depth of space that was a new technique during this time.
But who was this woman? For many years no one knew – she definitely has a mysterious quality. What is her facial expression? Is she happy? Is she thinking? If you ever get to see this painting in Paris make sure you walk past her while looking at her eyes. No matter where you stand it feels like she’s looking at you. Super mysterious!!
Let’s look at another important Renaissance painter, Raphael (1483-1520), and his use of ‘Linear Perspective’:
The School of Athens. Raphael. 1510-11 AD. Vatican Palace, Rome
Notice the central vanishing point through the arch in the background just between the 2 central figure’s heads. All the elements of this architectural space vanish towards that point. The statues within the walls closest to us are much larger than the ones farther back, creating a sense of depth – of closeness and far away. Here, Raphael has picked a very Renaissance subject – Plato and Aristotle are surrounded by a group of the most famous Greek philosophers, each doing something or in a pose that was characteristic of what they studied. He also included Michelangelo in the center leaning against a block of marble and a self portrait of himself to the far right in a black beret.
Michelangelo (1475-1564) was included in this painting at the last minute, probably because Raphael was inspired by the work he was doing at the time in the Sistine Chapel. In fact, Raphael completely started over half way through his creation of The School of Athens because he was so impressed with Michelangelo’s work.
The Sistine Ceiling. Michelangelo. 1508-12 AD
The ceiling of the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican took 5 years to paint and in the central panel shows nine stories from Genesis. Here Michelangelo uses the very “Renaissance” coming together of the Church and Science or Humanism – we have a story from the bible combined with very sculpted figures that show bodies in a new, muscular way.
The Creation of Adam, portion of the Sistine Ceiling. Michelangelo. 1508-12 AD
(I’m censoring some of these images – if you’re comfortable with the true version click on the image to be taken to the Vatican’s website)
In The Creation of Adam, Michelangelo depicts the passage of the “divine spark” from God (on the right) to Adam (on the left). Eve is waiting under God’s left arm. Their faces are full of emotion. The use of ‘Chiaroscuro’ light and dark, along with the sculpted style of the figure’s bodies, gives them a 3-dimensional feel. Can you imagine painting this on a ceiling!?
But Michelangelo was really known for his sculpture, or carved marble statues – perhaps this is why his painted figures have this sculpted style. Here is one of his most famous sculptures:
Pietá. Michelangelo. 1500 AD. St. Peter’s, Rome
This sculpture sits just inside the right aisle of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. This is a logical location for these figures, as Mary (or the Madonna) represents the Church and she symbolizes the gateway to Heaven.
Michelangelo’s gift as a sculptor was his ability to add spirit to his statues. They technically are calm and still sculpted figures, but they somehow have an energy or a ‘Pathos’ that cannot be released from their marble bodies. The Greek’s gave us ‘Contrapposto’ – their contribution to sculpture was that their figures were doing something. Michelangelo gave his sculpted figures feelings or the sense that they were also thinking about doing something.
This is best shown in his most famous sculpture, David:
David. Michelangelo. 1501-4 AD. Galleria dell’Accademia, Florence
With Michelangelo’s David we truly have it all! His stance is the classic Greek ‘Contrapposto’. His face and the energy in his muscles gives us the Renaissance ‘Pathos’ – just look at his facial expression. What do you think he’s thinking? Remember, the legend of David is is that he slayed the giant, Goliath, in a singe try with a stone from his sling. He’s the original super hero with, what must be, superhuman powers. He sure is standing like a hero. Look at his hands – do they seem like they’re the right size? Those superhuman hands must have helped when he slayed Goliath.
But now let’s go back to the Pietá – Mary is holding the body of Jesus after he has been taken down from the cross. How should she feel in this moment?
Sad, right? But does she look sad? Or does she maybe look peaceful? This is the genius of Michelangelo. His Madonna lacks ‘Pathos’ because she knows she’s only holding her son in his human form – he was sacrificed to redeem our sins and has now ascended into Heaven. This is the central mystery of Christianity, and here Michelangelo is bringing together the humanism of the Renaissance with the teachings of the Church.
Videos:
TICE ART 1010 Renaissance ART does a great job covering the artistic techniques we’ve discussed and also some of the other important elements of the Renaissance:
Art Project Options:
Use this printable under a blank sheet of paper to practice drawing a room or space with ‘Linear Perspective’: Art History for Kids – Renaissance
And here’s a link to a free coloring page of the Mona Lisa – practice your ‘Chiaroscuro’ on her face: www.supercoloring.com
Art Supplies Needed:
Printer & Paper
Crayons or coloring pens
Pencils
